With just over two weeks to go until the annual Cosford Food Festival, organisers are gearing up for their biggest and best event yet! This year’s festival is packed with over 90 local food and drink producers, a busy line-up on the cooking demo stage and live performances from the Cosford and Shawbury Military Wives Choir. Plus, there will be plenty of hand-on foodie fun and entertainment for families and a Dakota flypast as the cherry on top!

Taking place on 22 and 23 July, the festival is being held in the unique setting at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford, with the VC10 and Hercules aircraft acting as a backdrop to the bustling food market. There will be plenty of delicious food for visitors to buy and enjoy at the festival, with some of the best street food vendors in town cooking up flavours from around the world, as well as a wide choice of locally brewed beverages to accompany the great food on offer. Visitors can sit back and relax with a summer’s drink in hand, whilst dining alfresco and enjoying some of the weekend’s entertainment.

Festival goers will be treated to live performances from the Cosford Military Wives Choir on Saturday and the Shawbury Military Wives Choir on Sunday, two magnificent performances not to be missed. A guaranteed highlight on Saturday afternoon will be the unmistakable sound of a Second World War aircraft, as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Dakota flies overhead during a spectacular flypast (scheduled for 1.15pm weather permitting).

With a jam packed programme of demonstrations over the festival weekend, visitors can learn from the experts on how to prepare, cook and present a range of exciting dishes. Festival organisers have signed up some exciting new chefs for this year’s festival including Shropshire celebrity chef Marcus Bean as well as popular favourites from previous years, ensuring the demo stage has an entertaining and varied line up for visitors both days.

Kick starting the weekend’s live music is festival favourite and acoustic musician Anthony Doyle, who will be encouraging visitors to sing along and even have a go with the musical instruments. Bringing a touch of vintage sounds to the festival will be the fabulous The Bluebird Belles, a 1940s vintage trio who specialise in retro sounds. Plus, new to the festival this year and performing both days are The Dirty Rockin Scoundrels, bringing you the best Rock 'n' Roll music of the 50's and 60's - that's guaranteed to get you moving and grooving!

Ensuring there is plenty to do for the little foodies, Kid’s Corner is an entire area packed with entertainment for youngsters. Kiddy Cook will be running five cookery workshops each day and this year’s theme will be celebrating the red poppy and how poppy seeds can be used in cooking - children will get hands-on decorating cupcakes, biscuits and cheesy shortbread to take away and eat. Spaces are limited to 20 children per session, so if you have any future chefs in the family, book now to guarantee your place by visiting www.rafmuseum.org/cosford.

Also in Kid’s Corner, children can take part in pottery workshops, try their hands at circus skills, create painting using colourful plastic bottle tops, have fun on the RAF play bus and of course, no festival would be complete without some face painting! But if all that’s not enough, why not have a go at the craft activity peg planes, get into the festival spirit with an airbrush tattoos (complete with glitter!) or grab yourself a new pet – a walking balloon pet that is….and take them for a stroll around the festival.

Actor John Challis, who is best known for playing the character Boycie in the popular BBC sitcom ‘Only Fools and Horses’ will be at festival bringing along a range of his books for people to have signed. Organisers are thrilled to have this local legend at the festival for the first time this year and are confident he will prove popular with visitors.

The Cosford Food Festival will run from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 July and admission is just £5 per adult, with family rates available. Tickets to the festival are now available to purchase in advance via the RAF Museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford where you will also find a full list of exhibitors. Festival goers will also be able to enjoy exploring the aircraft and exhibits on display at the RAF Museum Cosford - with their wristband on, they can pop in and out of the festival to the Museum throughout the day.

In addition to the parking at the Museum, there will be a FREE park & ride operating from the large car park at Cosford train station over the festival weekend. There will be two buses running continuously throughout the day and they will drop visitor’s right at the entrance to the festival! Disabled parking is available at the Museum. Keep up to date with the latest festival info by following the event on Facebook/CosfordFoodFestival.

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